Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106041 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 353(@300wpm)
Since we weren't out in public much, I guess they thought it was the perfect time to claim our marriage was on the rocks and we were hiding out because of it.
We shut them up two months later when we announced my pregnancy. Kaiden looked like a fierce, possessive warrior with one hand on my belly and the other wrapped around me. He stared into the camera so defiantly he nearly set it on fire. Everyone remembers those pictures. They don't remember the dumb gossip that came before them.
No one has tried questioning the status of our relationship since, either. Those pictures said everything that needed to be said. The way he looks at me says it. The way he touches me says it. And so does the way I can't take my eyes off him. If we're together, it doesn't matter who else is with us; he's the most important person in the room to me, and everyone knows it.
I never knew love like this existed outside of the movies, but I'm so darn thankful it does. Had I known he was waiting for me in the shadows of that old movie lot, I would have gone running to find him a lot sooner. I'll forever be grateful to Heart and Soul Studios for convincing him to take the job working on The Naughty List. Having him on set every day brought us so much closer together.
"I wanna see Santa," Noelle pouts from inside the closet. "You said we would see Santa, Cwara."
"You hab to be quiet, then. If mommy catches us, we'll neber find out if he's really real."
"He is real!" Noelle says indignantly. "Daddy said so. He said Santa bringed mommy to him."
"Santa doesn't bring people."
"He bringed mommy!"
My heart melts. Of course, Kaiden would tell the girls that, the sweet man.
"He bringed us too."
"Did not."
"Did so. Daddy said that he put us in mommy's belly for Chwistmas."
I'm not so sure Santa had anything to do with that, but we'll go with Kaiden's version. It's far more kid-appropriate than the truth.
The girls bicker back and forth for several moments before I hear bells jingle across the room. I quickly scurry to the kitchen on silent feet, hiding in the doorway so the girls don't see me as Kaiden opens the front door to let himself in. He must have exited from the patio in our room and circled around.
My eyes light up. I bite my tongue to keep from laughing out loud as my giant husband steps inside, stomping fake snow from his boots. How he manages to make a Santa suit look good, I don't know, but he does. The red coat and white beard don't look generic on him, but handsome as he hauls a big red bag into the house over his shoulder.
His eyes meet mine, his eyes full of love.
I point toward the closet, letting him know where the girls are hiding.
He gives me an imperceptible nod before turning toward the giant Christmas tree set up in front of the windows. More fake snow falls from his boots and his sack as he hauls the bag across the room.
"Cwara! Cwara! It's Santa!" Noelle whisper-shouts from the closet, trying—and failing—to speak quietly.
"It is him," Clara breathes, awe and reverence in her voice.
"I telled you he was real!"
The bells on his bag jingle as he lowers to the floor near the tree. He doesn't speak as he pulls it open and rummages inside for a moment before pulling out two gifts wrapped in pink paper with matching bows. They're little dolls the girls wanted. We always try to get them something reasonable from Santa instead of giving outrageously expensive Santa gifts. It makes me sad to think of the little kids whose parents aren't as fortunate as we've been, wondering why Santa doesn't like them as much as he likes the other kids because some kids get expensive Santa gifts, and some don't have that luxury. We want to raise our girls to be grateful and empathetic and understand they live a privileged life. Lord knows, not everyone is as fortunate.
The girls watch through a crack in the door in silent awe as "Santa" places their gifts under the tree and then straightens to eat the cookies and milk they left out for him. He even pockets the treats they left for the reindeer and carefully tucks away the card Noelle drew for him.
Once he's finished, he glances toward the closet where the girls are hiding, being careful to keep his face hidden so they can't see the scar. It'll give him away immediately.
"Little girls should be in bed," he whispers, disguising his voice.
Noelle squeals before the sound abruptly cuts off as if she slapped her hand over her mouth. She darts out of the closet, scurrying up the stairs as fast as her little legs will carry her.